What you need to know about flu season

Friday

Sep 23, 2011 at 12:01 AMSep 23, 2011 at 10:15 PM

The influenza season officially starts in October, and it can last until May. Public health officials are already working hard to get the word out about vaccinations. The message: Everybody should get a flu shot.

Ann Pierceall

We’ve all been there –– the body aches, the fever, the dreaded cough that keeps you up all night. It’s the flu. It’s miserable. And it can be dangerous for some people.

The influenza season officially starts in October, and it can last until May. Public health officials are already working hard to get the word out about vaccinations. The message: Everybody should get a flu shot.

“Get the vaccine early, that’s No. 1,” said Dr. Vidya Sundareshan, assistant professor of medicine at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine’s Department of Internal Medicine.

Also key: Someone getting sick, she said, should stay away from work or school, particularly in a health care setting. And for those who get the flu, antiviral drugs are available to limit the severity of symptoms and the duration of the illness.

Sundareshan is with the medical school’s Division of Infectious Diseases and notes that, this year, there is no shortage of vaccine, making this key preventive measure available for everyone age 6 months and older. It should be available at medical clinics Oct. 10, and it is already available in some locations.

Getting more of the population vaccinated against this year’s flu strain is one of the most important elements to slowing or preventing the spread of the flu.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the No. 1 preventive measure against the flu is the vaccine. According to the CDC, while there are many different flu viruses, the vaccination is designed to protect against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season.

This year, those strains are the influenza A (H1N1) virus, the influenza A (H3N2) virus and an influenza B virus.

Those at highest risk for the flu — children age 5 and under, the elderly and anyone with a compromised immune system, chronic illness or heart disease — are among the “tier 1” population that should be vaccinated. Tier 2 is made up of everyone else — namely, healthy adults ages 18-49.

Sundareshan said the flu vaccine is effective. She said national figures show the vaccine mitigates the severity of symptoms or prevents contraction of the illness in 70 to 90 percent of the tier 2 population and about 50 percent of the tier 1 population.

By getting the vaccine, “you already have the antibodies,” she said. “The severity of the disease is much less, and it decreases the chance of you getting the flu.”

Complications are limited, but those with severe egg allergies are at risk.

‘It varies year to year’

Predicting where the flu will hit hardest each year is like predicting the changes to the various strains. It’s tricky.

“It varies every year. It really depends on what the vaccination’s availability has been and how many people got vaccinated,” Sundareshan said.

The flu is different from a cold. The CDC says the flu usually comes on suddenly. People who have the flu often feel some or all of these symptoms:

Some people may have vomiting, according to the CDC, but that is more common in children than adults. It’s also important to note that not everyone with the flu will have a fever.

Influenza, when it does strike, takes about one week to run its course.
Sundareshan said people are infectious roughly one day before symptoms start and three to five days after.

Protect yourself

In addition to getting vaccinated, there are simple ways you can avoid the flu virus:

Wash your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand cleanser.
Cover all coughs and sneezes with a tissue, if possible, or the crook of your arm.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Avoid contact with sick people.
If you are sick, stay home (except for medical visits or other necessities) until your fever is gone for 24 hours without the use of fever reducers.

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